Collaborative practice is an alternative to the traditional
practice of adversarial divorce, family law litigation, and resolution of other domestic and civil disagreements through the legal process.
Participants in the collaborative process voluntarily produce all relevant financial and family information so they avoid lengthy and expensive discovery fights
characteristic of adversarial divorces.
Collaborative divorce and family law began 25 years ago, in 1990, when a Minnesota attorney named Stu Webb decided that he simply no longer wanted to be
part of an adversarial divorce process.
He is trained and experienced in divorce mediation, collaborative divorce, child custody, and divorce coaching, and he has helped many divorcing couples unhook themselves from the emotional
turmoil of the adversarial divorce game so that they can end their marriages and «divorce with dignity».
He is trained and experienced in divorce mediation, collaborative divorce, child custody, and divorce coaching, and he has helped many divorcing couples unhook themselves from the emotional turmoil
of the adversarial divorce game so that they can end their marriages and «divorce with dignity».
I want to help clients avoid the
agony of adversarial divorce, find their way to peaceful resolution, and preserve as much as possible of what they cherish.
I do not believe it would have been fair or reasonable to ask potential mediation clients «what is it worth to you to avoid the
ugliness of adversarial divorce» and then to charge them accordingly.
The idea is an old one, based on the
history of adversarial divorce and family law, certainly in Toronto in particular, but also in Canada in general.
Just as importantly, its aim will be to leave you with an agreement that both of you feel you can live with, not an agreement that only meets the needs of one of you, as is so often the case when couples turn to the winner - take - all
world of adversarial divorce proceedings.
«That sounds like a lot of money but when you look at the average cost
of an adversarial divorce today you are talking double that easily to not even get through trial,» said Masters, who works at the Cobb Cole law firm.
No more than one in 30 divorce cases in Volusia County go the collaborative route, which Masters said is a shame because the collaborative approach can spare spouses much of the anger, pain and
conflict of an adversarial divorce.
Finally, it is hard to put a price tag on the emotional toll on the family in tears, sleepless nights, stress and worry that are just
part of an adversarial divorce.
The Collaborative Divorce model has grown rapidly throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and elsewhere because it has proven to be a healthier, more humane way to avoid the negative
results of the adversarial divorce process.
Collaborative divorce and family law began 25 years ago, in 1990, when a Minnesota attorney named Stu Webb decided that he simply no longer wanted to be part
of an adversarial divorce process.
- Collaborative practice is an alternative to the traditional practice
of adversarial divorce, family law litigation,...